Second Robber Gets 149 Years

NORFOLK — Four people were shot in a monthslong crime spree across Hampton and Newport News.

A Hampton man was sentenced Monday to 149 years in federal prison for his role in a string of armed robberies that targeted business in Hampton and Newport News in 2004 and 2005.

John Small, 26, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Norfolk to 1,788 months -- or 149 years -- for robbing Food Lion grocery stores, 7-Eleven convenience stores, a Crown gas station and a Chanello's Pizza shop. He was convicted in July on 13 federal counts of conspiring to commit robbery affecting commerce, robbery and using a firearm in a crime of violence.

Small's roommate, Caleb Carr, was sentenced last week to 175 years and eight months in federal prison for the same crimes and for another robbery he committed alone.

Small and Carr, 20, began their crime spree in late December 2004, growing more aggressive with each robbery, federal prosecutors said. The men carried handguns and left bullet casings behind at five of the six holdups, according to evidence presented during their trial.

Four people were shot by the time the robberies came to an end on March 14, 2005. Court records show that on that day, Carr was shot in the head while trying to rob a Food Lion grocery story alone.

Carr and Small were prosecuted in federal court because the robberies adversely affected the transactions of businesses operating across state lines, a federal offense. Trying the case in federal court also allowed the men to be prosecuted together for the multiple armed robberies. In state court, they would have been tried separately on each charge.

Federal sentencing guidelines require inmates to serve every day of their prison term. *